So you’ve heard about lapbooking; seen pictures all over the home school blogs, and now they’ve intrigued you so much that you want to try and make one yourself, but you’re not quite sure where to start. It can be somewhat overwhelming trying to take on a task that you’ve never tackled before, especially when you have a plain manila file folder sitting in front of you with nothing on it. This article will give you some ideas on how to start lapbooking and you probably won’t stop doing it once you’ve started.
Start with a mini book
The easiest way to start lapbooking is to start out by making a mini book. There are some different styles of mini books so you’ll probably want to be familiar with at least two or three different styles. The great thing about mini books is that they are “mini” and won’t take a ton of time. You can use the paper that is available to you at home; colored, white, or whatever you have. Details are not really an issue when it comes to making a mini book. The main idea is to have fun making it and to get involved with your child. The three most commonly used mini books are:
• One page books- they are the simplest; easy and fun.
• Layered books
• Accordion books
There are several different web sites on the Internet you can go to, to get directions on how to make these books. Some of the sites even have videos which make it easier to help understand as well.
Choosing a topic
The next step in making a lapbook is to choose something of interest; your topic. Don’t worry about exactly what curriculum you are going to cover, just try to find something that you know your child is going to be interested in.
This will make the entire process much more pleasant for everyone. The best and probably the easiest way to choose a topic is to find a social studies or science theme (although any kind of theme will work with these). Here are some ideas for topics to use for your lapbook:
• Space- Boys and girls are fascinated with space and the solar system. If you’re having a hard time finding something to do your lapbook on, then try throwing out this idea. You can study each of the planets, astronauts, and all sorts of different things in space.
• Places of interest- As children get older the world becomes a more fascinating place to them. With so many different cultures to study and different kinds of people and traditions there are thousands of ideas that you could use with this. You could use this as part of a social studies unit or just have them pick a place around the world they want to learn more about.
Make your lapbook
Once you are done studying about your topic you can begin to compile your lapbook. Make sure as you’re going along that you keep pictures, mini books and other things that you might want to add as part of the book. This is really the fun part. Children can design a cover for their books, cut and paste pictures, and even make up some fun trivia games to help them remember what they’ve studies. And voila, you have your very first lapbook.
Figure out how to start lapbooking is probably the hardest part about the entire process. Lapbooks are fun and easy to make and kids love them so use these tips to help you get started.
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